Seifer
by generalquistis
Summary: Can You Spell Seifer's Name???
1. Part I: S For Scarred

Seifer

By: General Quistis

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, yadda, yadda, yadda… but I own the story plot.

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Part I: S For Scarred 

He woke up to find myself in another room… a room that doesn't seem to be so familiar to him. He tried to adjust his vision because it was a little blurry, probably because he overslept… 

And then he realized that he was in a new room… he just made SeeD one year ago and he was wondering what's in store for him in this new life.

He's been a SeeD for one year and he's been in that room for one year now… and he's still not very familiar with that room…

And he stood up, not even bothering to look at himself in the mirror as he headed for the bathroom.

He got dressed and headed outside, down the hallway going to the lobby, and from the lobby to the cafeteria. 

It was pretty annoying about the fact that ever since he got accepted again in this Garden, he was still misjudged. He heard nasty remarks like, 

"What's he doing here, isn't he supposed to be dead?"

"I hate that guy, he's bad news."

"Even if he's the last guy on earth, I wouldn't dare date him!"

"Headmaster Cid must be crazy to take him back here! I think I'd just expel myself from this Garden if I have to work with that Almasy guy!"

"I can't believe Quistis had agreed to be his private tutor so that he could be a SeeD."

… sometimes, he'd wonder if he was really the meanest guy in this Garden because of those remarks. Sure, he could tell himself that he has changed a bit, but he still had the tendency to be like…like how he was back then…

Still, he felt a little lonely because he had no friends in this Garden anymore. Everyone refused to come near him because of the fact that he was "bad news"… well, okay, that was exaggerated… 

It's still too bad that Raijin and Fuujin weren't accepted back. Those guys were his only friends, and somehow, he wondered how he would survive in theGarden without those nice guys… 

And those over a million nasty remarks about him would whirl around his head and would make him frown and say, "Somebody, shoot me," but no one would dare. Hey, he gets annoyed too! He's only a human with feelings and he can lose his temper easily… although whenever he lost his temper on those damned people who make those nasty remarks, he ends up being the loser with no one to tell him, "It's okay, you're misunderstood. Just screw them."

When he got inside the cafeteria, there were no more vacant seats. He saw Selphie seated with Zell and Squall and he doubted if they even saw him… and maybe if they did saw him, they must've pretended that they didn't. He searched the whole cafeteria for a vacant seat, and just when he was about to lose hope, somebody tugged at his trench coat. "Hey, you can sit with me, I'm with no one." 

He turned around and looked down at this blonde girl about his age. She was seated and another chair was beside her. She removed her books and other things from that chair so that he could occupy it. He smiled at her, "Thanks, Quistis." he told her.

Describe Quistis: Blonde hair, long bangs, the back part of her hair clamped up… soulful blue eyes… his former instructor, the one who was kind enough to be his private tutor so that he could be a SeeD, the one whom he's constantly annoyed for several years already… and here she is, offering him a seat.

He sat down beside her and after he did so, he really wanted to blow up the whole cafeteria because of those prying eyes. "Damn them…" he muttered.

"Don't mind them." Quistis told him with a calm tone.

He wondered why she was seated alone and why she's not with Selphie, Zell and Squall. "You're alone?" he asked.

"Not anymore, you're here," she told him with a sweet smile.

It's so seldom to see her smile like that… and he guessed he was lucky enough to see her do that. He had to smile when she said that. Then, he remembered that he still haven't bought anything, so he stood up again. "Save this seat, I'll be right back," he told her.

She nodded with a kind smile as she placed a book on my seat so that she could mark it as "reserved".

He immediately got back to her after he got his tray of breakfast. They ate together and shared stories with each other, and she would laugh at his jokes, at he'd laugh at hers.

There was a moment of silence because she had to look at her date book. "What's the date today?" she asked.

"December 20." he replied.

She began to write. "Thanks," she told me.

Then, from out of the blue, Zell, Selphie and Squall approached them, carrying their seats and positioned themselves by their table. They actually joined them…

"Hi!" Selphie greeted him with her usual happy-looking face.

"Hi," he said, feeling a little nervous. "If you guys are just here to annoy me, better get lost…" he thought to himself.

"So, do you guys have any plans for today?" Selphie asked him and Quistis.

"I'm staying in my room." he replied.

"I'll be in the library," Quistis replied; he could tell that she wasn't really interested in conversing with Selphie at that moment.

He eyed puberty-boy with curiosity. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing, we were just thinking of you and Quistis would like to go out for a while and go someplace else besides this Garden; because we'd also like you to join us." he replied with a tone that he couldn't even make out… was it bored, was it enthusiastic, was it just so-so… he didn't know.

He looked at Quistis, hoping that she could read his thoughts saying, "If you go, I'll go; if you stay, I'll stay." She didn't even look at him but she shrugged. "Sure, no problem," she told Squall.

"Sure," Seifer replied as he stood up. "We can use my car. See you guys at the parking lot. I'll just go to the bathroom," he told them.

"I'll go with you, I need to go too," Squall told me as he stood up.

Sometimes, he didn't know why the only people who would speak to him would usually be Squall, Selphie, Zell, Cid and Edea… and mostly, Quistis.

But he wouldn't dare tell myself that he could call them "friends"… no, it's not yet right time to call them "friends"…he doesn't even know if they could be trusted and if he could count on them.

On the way to the men's room, Squall was actually sharing this lame story about Rinoa and himself doing an errand for Cid. He stopped when they got inside the men's room and he entered one of the cubicles. Seifer entered the other one and did his thing there, and got out to wash his hands after he removed his gloves. Then, there's this other guy and the nerve of him to tell Seifer something and he didn't even know him… 

"Hey, you're Seifer Almasy, right? Say, I don't even know how you got accepted back here at Garden… but don't you feel ashamed because of those bad things that you did?" and he just walked out, not even afraid of Seifer.

Seifer stopped washing my hands and frowned. He turned his gaze to the mirror facing him and he examined myself. "He's right… aren't I ashamed?" he thought to himself silently, like it was the first time that thought ever came into his consciousness. He examined his own face, seeing the sudden guilt that he was already feeling. 

He had avoided the mirror in his bedroom and now this mirror told him something: You are scarred.

He is scarred… and everyone could see that scar…

And that scar isn't the one that Squall had caused…

It isn't a physical scar, it is something from inside of him… like his reputation, attitude or something else…

…and he hit his own reflection…

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Author's note: okay, did that bore you? I hope not… coz it got me bored and sleepy when I was writing it… anyway, you may proceed to Part II.


	2. Part II: E For Emptiness

Seifer

By: General Quistis

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, yadda, yadda, yadda… but I own the story plot.

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Part II: E For Emptiness 

The next thing he knew, hewas in the Infirmary and Doctor Kadowaki was already wrapping his right hand with bandages. He searched the room for other people that he knows, and there was Squall and Quistis. Quistis was holding his trench coat and was looking at him with a concerned facial expression.

Squall was leaning against the wall, looking up at the ceiling.

"Seifer, Headmaster Cid wants to speak to you in the afternoon," Doctor Kadowaki told him.

He frowned and hecould already feel that he's in some trouble again. 

Trouble.

Again.

Trouble.

Again.

He wanted to burst.

How could he screw up again?! Now his reputation got ruined further!

Doctor Kadowaki finished with the bandages and stood up. Seifer got up and moved his hand… it was painful.

"I had to give you some stitches because those wounds were deep! You sure punched the glass too hard, huh, Seifer?" Doctor Kadowaki told him with a silly smile on her face.

He wanted to start cussing but something in him stopped his stupid mouth from saying those things. Quistis approached him and offered to help him with his trench coat.

Puberty boy turned to him with a weak smile on his face. "You're lucky I was still in the men's room to take you here. You seemed like you weren't in your right mind when we were on our way here… I was asking you some questions and you weren't answering. You were just staring into empty space!" he told Seifer.

"You mean, I blanked out?" Seifer asked, hardly believing it. "That's it, I'm going crazy…" he thought to himself as he scratched his head with his uninjured hand.

Quistis patted his shoulders to make sure his trench coat was properly worn against his body. 

He smiled at them. "Looks like I can't drive." he told them.

"I can drive us out of here," Squall told him.

"Like I could trust you behind the wheel," Seifer replied with an insulting tone.

Squall frowned at him but shrugged. "Whatever," he replied as he headed for the door. "I'll meet you guys at the Parking Lot," he told them.

Seifer turned to Quistis and he noticed that she kept avoiding is gaze whenever he would look at her. "Seifer, are you okay?" she asked in almost a whisper. Her head was bowed down and her hands were in fists. 

He also didn't know the answer to that question, so he just got her hand and dragged her with him, "Let's go, you wouldn't wanna keep Puberty-boy and Chicken-wuss waiting!" he told her.

She didn't say anything more.

*** 

They were in Squall's convertible and Seifer was seated between 2 girls in the back seat. Selphie was babbling about cows and trains while Quistis and Seifer listened with no enthusiasm shown on their faces.

Squall and Zell were in the front seats.

At first, Seifer and Quistis didn't know where we were supposed to be heading but then there was Balamb town… "I thought we're going some place else besides this place?" Quistis told them.

"Nah, this place is also good…especially at the port. We can enjoy the wind and the sea there." Selphie told her.

Seifer laughed dryly. "What are we gonna do there? Count seagulls?" he asked with an insulting tone.

"That'd be fun!" Selphie said, jumping up and down from her seat.

Quistis and Seifer stared back at her with total perplexity written all over their faces.

*** 

They got down from the vehicle and Seifer watched as Zell and Selphie ran down to the edge of the port excitedly. Zell brought out his T-board.

"Sometimes, I wonder if they're retarded or something…" Seifer told Quistis as they followed the two. 

Quistis laughed at what he said. "No, they're not… they're just a little childish, that's all," she told him.

They stopped walking and they both looked up at the skies. He wondered where Puberty-boy had gone to… Seifer turned around and saw Rinoa running down to Squall. 

"Aha! Now I know why Squall agreed to come here," Seifer told Quistis with a silly smile on his face.

Quistis turned to look at them and she frowned slightly. She looked away when she saw Rinoa embrace Squall and kiss him.

Seifer looked down at Quistis and she suddenly looked a little sad.

"Don't tell me you're jealous because you still like Squall?" he asked, meaning to annoy her.

She shook her head and smiled slightly. "Nah… they're just lucky to have each other… while I'm so unlucky to have nobody else but myself," she told him.

Seifer searched the whole area and there was this bench. He tapped her shoulder gently and pointed to the bench, inviting her to sit there with him. She nodded and led the way. He followed from behind her. 

They sat down but they were silent for a few seconds. She leaned back on the bench and looked up at the clear blue skies. He followed her gaze and then looked down at her blue eyes… and he noticed that she wasn't wearing her glasses… and he realized that she's better off without those. 

"We should've just brought along our fishing gear if we knew we were coming here," she told him as she turned her gaze to him. He looked away, not wanting her to see him looking at her that way. "Yeah… I guess so too…" he told her.

"Raijin and Fuujin live around this place, right? Do they come here a lot to fish?" she asked him with an interested look on her face.

"I guess… I haven't really seen them for 5 months now." He told her with a disappointed look on his face. She smiled at him. "You know what, you could request Headmaster Cid to take them back to the Garden if you want to," she told him.

"Tried that. Failed." He replied as he rested his placed my elbows on top of the part of the bench where they leaned. "I sure miss those guys," hetold her honestly.

She was silent for a while, and he was waiting for her reaction. He was expecting a look of pity from her but she didn't give him that look, instead, she stared straight ahead and spoke up in a low tone, "Are they your only friends?" 

The question struck him. Are they his only friends? He didn't know how to answer that question, so he just replied, "Why do you ask?" 

She looked at him and her eyes seem to be searching his soul as their gazes locked. "You feel lonely, don't you?" she asked.

He didn't know what to say. He just looked away and saw Squall and Rinoa walking by, heading for Selphie. Seifer looked back at Quistis and frowned at her. "I don't feel lonely, I feel unwanted," he replied before standing up.

He left her there and didn't even bother to look back. He went back to the Garden alone, feeling so empty, like he's hollow inside. Sometimes, hr wondered how he could manage to continue living his life in that damned world… 

On his way to Cid's office, a bunch of students were looking at him like he was some kind of a nutcase or something. He even heard some of them saying, "I thought he was with Squall and the others?" "Hmf! Sometimes, I wish that if he leaves the Garden, he would never go back."

Seifer gave them a dirty look to drive them away before he got in the elevator.

When he got to Cid's office, Cid was seated and Matron was standing by the window, looking outside. They turned to him with surprised looks. "Oh, hello, Seifer," Edea told him with a gentle smile. 

She was almost like a mother to him… he didn't know if he should consider Cid as a father but…

"How's your hand?" Cid asked Seifer as he motioned for him to sit down.

Seifer sat down with an uncomfortable feeling. "What do you care about my hand? Go ahead and punish me for breaking the mirror in the men's room downstairs, I don't care. Just tell me what my punishment is all about so that I can go. I don't have all day!" he told them with an annoyed look on his face.

Cid and Edea exchanged confused glances with one another, and then turned back to him. "Seifer, I didn't call you here to punish you," Cid told him with a stiff look.

Edea approached Seifer and sat down on the other seat facing him. "This is about Raijin," she told him with a concerned look on her face.

He frowned at her as she took his hand. "Please listen…" she whispered with a sad tone.

Seifer could feel that something's wrong… and he looked at the Headmaster. "What happened to Raijin?" he asked with a hard tone.

Cid took a deep breath and released it. He couldn't look at Seifer in the eye when he spoke up solemnly, "Raijin and Fuujin got into some sort of… accident…" 

Seifer frowned and he could feel his own heart racing. "What accident?" he asked.

"They ran into some Galbadian students… and the students picked a fight with them… two against twenty… luckily, Irvine was passing by and he stopped the awful battle, but it was too late," Cid stopped.

Seifer withdrew his hand from Matron and he pounded that injured hand on the table, not minding the pain that he felt. "What happened? What do you mean by it's too late?" he demanded with an alarmed tone.

"Fuujin's downstairs at the Infirmary… Raijin is… Raijin is…" Cid stammered, looking further away from him.

I stood up and stomped my foot. "Raijin is what?!" Seifer demanded impatiently.

"Raijin is dead. I'm sorry, Seifer," Edea told him with a sad tone. 

Seifer turned my gaze to her and she was looking at him with this sorry look in her eyes. He clenched his fists and he felt like dying. His friend…dead… and his other friend… severely injured.

He ran out of the office without saying anything more. He headed for the infirmary and even before Doctor Kadowaki could tell me that he's not allowed to see Fuujin, he didn't even bother to listen. He went ahead and searched for his friend, and he I saw her in one of the beds… eyes closed, face bruised, scratched, wounded… 

The life-support machines were beside her. Seifer turned to Doctor Kadowaki. "Couldn't you use Curaga or Remedy or something?! Somebody's dying in here!" he told her in annoyance.

"We tried! Nothing seems to work!" the doctor replied.

He went to Fuujin and examined her condition. He could feel his whole body trembling and damned tears were stinging his eyes… He didn't know what to think of that situation…

He wanted to speak to Fuujin and tell her that she mustn't die because if she does, he would have no more friends left… she and Raijin were his only friends… and it would seem like the end of the world if she dies…

Seifer got her hand and squeezed it gently. "Fuujin," was all he could say…

What more? 

He could feel his whole human self getting drained… until he gets all empty…

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Author's note: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz………………. -_-


	3. Part III: I For Isolated

Seifer

By: General Quistis

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, yadda, yadda, yadda… but I own the story plot.

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Part III: I For Isolated 

Seifer was alone in his room, lying down on his bed and staring up at the ceiling. Ever since that afternoon, he didn't feel like talking to anyone, especially seeing those people who had misjudged him. He didn't want to see Fuujin anymore because just the sight of her pitiful face could make his heart sink. 

He turned to the clock on the wall and read the time silently: 2:30 am…

He frowned when he remembered that tomorrow was his birthday. "Like anyone would care…" he thought miserably. He recalled that only Raijin and Fuujin would remember his birthday…

He closed his eyes but he couldn't sleep. Several thoughts whirled around his head and made him feel so uncomfortable. 

*** 

When the clock struck 7:00, he got out of his room and decided to take a walk in the training center and maybe meet some ugly creatures so that he could practice his skills.

He wasn't even there for 30 minutes and 25 Bite Bugs had already attacked him. He had a hard time killing them with his Hyperion because his right hand was injured… which made him wish that somehow, he's also a lefty.

He hurried and decided to just head out of the Training Center before any T-Rexaur could attack him… too late, a huge T-Rexaur came and attacked him.

"DAMN!" he cursed angrily, knowing that it would take a long time for him to defeat it, especially since he's got an injured right hand. He clutched his Hyperion tightly with his right hand, not minding the pain.

"If only someone else was here to help me…damn, this freakin' hand hurts!" he thought as he began to summon a GF… 

*** 

It was already 11:30 in the morning and some students were already having their lunch. It just began to snow that morning and so almost everyone was outside, playing in the snow.

Quistis had just finished having her lunch and she was headed for the lobby when she noticed a familiar-looking blonde guy struggling to walk, with his Gunblade supporting him. The other students were eyeing him with total perplexity and she wondered why they didn't even bothered to help him.

She ran to him and assisted him. "Seifer!" she said. 

He laughed dryly when he saw the surprised facial expression on her face. "What's wrong, Quistis? You haven't seen a man who almost got eaten by 6 T-Rexaurs in the Training Center?" he asked with a joking tone.

She eyed him with a doubtful look. "I don't know what's wrong with you but I'm taking you to the infirmary… tell you what, got any cures or remedies or whatever?" she asked as she helped him walk. He placed his arm around her shoulder as she placed hers around his waist.

"Ran out of those stuff… that's why I almost died in there!" Seifer replied.

On their way to the infirmary, Selphie and Squall saw them and helped Quistis with Seifer. "You dumb-ass. You should've known in the first place that your hand isn't capable of handling that Hyperion of yours while it's still injured!" Squall scolded as they entered.

"Stop scolding me, you're not my father!" Seifer told him with an annoyed look on his face.

They stopped walking when they saw that there's no one in there. "Isn't there supposed to be a doctor here or a nurse?" Selphie asked.

"They must be busy with a patient or something," Quistis suggested.

Then, Seifer remembered that Fuujin's also in the Infirmary, so he let go of Quistis and walked slowly going to the place where Fuujin is. "Seifer," Quistis followed him.

As they came nearer to Fuujin's part of the room, they could hear the continuous beep of some machine monitoring the heart. Seifer hurriedly went ahead of Quistis and she had to run to catch up with him. Seifer finally got to Fuujin and Doctor Kadowaki and a nurse was standing by her bed, removing the tubes and switching off the oxygen tank. The nurse switched off the other monitors and the other machines for life-support. Seifer let go of his Hyperion and leaned against the doorway, not believing everything that was happening.

Doctor Kadowaki gave him a sorry look.

Quistis, Squall and Selphie stopped in their tracks when they realized what happened.

Seifer could feel that he was about to snap as he stared at Fuujin's pale face. She wasn't moving and worse, she wasn't breathing anymore… 

Seifer a hold of himself and walked out of the Infirmary without saying anything more.

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Author's note: … zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz *snore* zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


	4. Part IV: F For Fighter

Seifer

By: General Quistis

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, yadda, yadda, yadda… but I own the story plot.

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Part IV: F For Fighter 

What a lovely 19th birthday gift: the death of another of your best friends…

Seifer smiled bitterly at that thought as he stared up at the ceiling. 

Now he's alone.

His frown deepened when he tried to shake those awful thoughts away from himself. "Damn… I can live without anyone to be with me… for the rest of my life, I'll be alone, better get used to it," he told himself.

He's always been a fighter but then at that moment, he already wanted to give up because of the events that were messing up his life ever since he got back in that Garden a year ago.

"Relax, Seifer… you survived a year in this Garden… you can do it for several more years to come," he told himself as he felt tears stinging his eyes.

Somewhere inside him, something was telling him that he couldn't take it anymore, but he didn't wanna listen to that voice. He blinked back those tears and he sat up in surprise when he heard a loud, booming voice from the P.A. system. "To Seifer Almasy, Quistis Trepe, Squall Leonhart, Selphie Tilmitt and Zell Dincht; please see Headmaster Cid right now. I repeat: to Seifer Almasy, Quistis Trepe, Squall Leonhart, Selphie Tilmitt and Zell Dincht, please see Headmaster Cid right now." 

Seifer scratched his head as he got up slowly, not minding the pain from his body. He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed heavily. "Must be another damn mission… I'll just pretend that nothing's wrong with my condition right now so that I could perform my job well and earn some cash." He thought to himself before heading out. 

The automatic door opened and he stopped when he saw Quistis by his door, looking up at him with a stern look. "Are you sure you can come with us?" she asked.

He frowned at her. "What do you care?" he asked as he pushed her aside and went ahead of her going to the elevator. She followed from behind him. "Look, I know that everything seems to be a little bit down for you… I understand that, but can you at least stop and think about yourself for a while? You're just making yourself suffer and I don't like that anymore," she told him.

He stopped walking and faced her. She stopped and looked up at him with a concerned look in her eyes.

"You wouldn't understand because you weren't there when it all happened. You don't know how hard it is for me, Quistis. Do you understand?" he asked with stern tone before turning away. 

Quistis ran after him and when she caught up with him, she got his hand and held it tightly. "I don't think you're in good condition to travel and work in this mission," she told him.

"We're only going to retrieve some missing documents, okay? That's an easy job! We're just going to some other Garden and get it!" he told her.

"You mean Galbadia Garden," she told him.

"Yeah, whatever," Seifer told her.

"Don't turn into a Squall on me!" Quistis snapped as she dragged him into one corner. She pushed him against the wall and pointed a finger at him. "You listen here, Mister Almasy, because I'm not going to repeat myself again… tell me how you feel about this freakin' situation you're undergoing now and I'll release you," she told him with a stern tone.

"What do you care?" he asked, looking down at her with a mocking tone. He realized that she still hasn't let go of his hand. He studied her facial expression and found that she's serious. His eyes narrowed as he spoke with a solemn tone, "Nobody cares for me," he told her before he pushed her aside and ran off.

Quistis followed him with her gaze. She couldn't understand herself on why she's bothering to talk to Seifer… 

*** 

Seifer got inside the elevator and once the door was shut and pressed the button going to the level where Cid's office was located, he noticed that there's something entwined around his fingers. He looked at is left hand and saw a silver-chained locket. He frowned slightly as he examined it. When he got to the Headmaster's office, Squall, Selphie and Zell were already there. He finally got the chain off his fingers and looked at the locket once again.

"What's that?" Selphie asked when she saw the locket.

"It's nothing…" Seifer replied as he tried to open the locket. When he did so, he saw his own picture there and it made him frown in wonder. "What the…" he managed to say, but stopped himself when he saw Squall, Selphie and Zell looking up at him with perplexity. 

Seifer closed the locket and placed it inside his pocket.

The Headmaster came from behind Seifer. "Sorry I was downstairs. So, you all know what you're going to do, right?" he asked them.

Seifer turned to him and saw Quistis following from behind. As he stared at her, he found himself getting lost in thought again… and suddenly, he felt alright… the sadness and disappointment seemed to have faded away when he followed her with his gaze. She stood beside Zell and when Cid stopped walking to face them, they saluted.

When they put down their hands, Cid walked to his desk and handed Squall a piece of paper. "You're the squad leader, Seifer, you're the assistant. That paper has a password written on it. Don't lose it." Cid told them.

"Yes, sir," Squall and Seifer replied.

"You will be going to Galbadia and pretend like you're new students applying in their Garden, is that understood?" Cid asked.

"What if they recognize us? Especially him?" Seifer asked, referring to Squall with a sour look on his face.

"Yeah, you too, you were with Edea when you got possessed." Squall argued with a mocking stare.

"You won't get recognized if you change your clothes. Edea and I had prepared a bag with your costumes inside. 

"Costumes?" Zell and Selphie both said in disbelief.

"Yes, you heard me right." Cid replied with a satisfied smile.

"No, actually, I thought you said that I'm suspended and I can't partake in this mission… so maybe then I could go down now and pack my things and leave the Garden for good…" Seifer lied with a sarcastic smile on his face.

Squall, Quistis, Zell and Selphie eyed him ridiculously. 

Cid tried to keep his patience with Seifer and so he just smiled calmly and said, "Well, Mister Almasy… if you want so much to leave the Garden, then you shouldn't have come back here." He said.

"I didn't come back here, you guys forced me back here." Seifer reasoned with a nasty grin.

Cid scratched his head and looked at Squall and Quistis, his eyes telling them, "Well don't just stand there, do something about this doggone guy!"

Quistis just looked at Seifer. For the first time, she felt like letting him do and say anything as he pleases.

Squall frowned at Seifer and flashed him a warning look. Seifer eyed him angrily. "What's it to you, Puberty-boy?!" he demanded with an insulting tone.

Squall just looked away with an annoyed look.

"Anyway, you may go now. I expect you guys to be back as soon as possible… probably before this week is through. It's a Monday and you should be back by Sunday. Understood?" Cid asked.

"Sir, yes, sir," the 5 replied before saluting.

Cid nodded his head. "Before you leave, go to Edea first and get the costumes. It's all in the flowery suitcase." He told them.

With that, the 5 headed downstairs again. "I'll meet you guys in the parking lot. Zell, you go to Matron and get the suitcase." Squall told them.

"I'll go with Zell," Selphie told him as she ran after Zell…

Squall ignored Seifer and Quistis and headed for the Parking Lot.

Quistis followed Squall with a flushed look on her face as she tried to avoid Seifer's gaze on her. Before she could catch up with Squall, Seifer grabbed her right hand and pulled her back to him. Her eyes were wide in surprise due to his sudden actions. "Seifer?!" she cried out in surprise.

He smiled at her. "What's with the locket, instructor?" he asked.

She frowned. "Why, is it bad?" she asked, her voice trembling. Then, she pulled away from him and caught up with Squall.

She tried to avoid Seifer on their trip going to Galbadia but he still tried to get close to her. Quistis never knew if he was doing that just to annoy her or something else…

…something else like…

…Did he understand that she liked him?


	5. Part V: E For Exceptional

Seifer

By: General Quistis

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, yadda, yadda, yadda… but I own the story plot.

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Part V: E For Exceptional 

Author's note: This part is a songfic… The song is entitled "A Groovy Kind of Love", sung by Phil Collins.

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_When I'm feeling blue,_

_All I have to do_

_Is take a look at you,_

_Then I'm not so blue…_

Seifer was seated on a couch by the window inside the SeeD Cabin of the train. He watched his squad-mates silently; Squall continued to stare into empty space while Zell and Selphie discussed some things about the Garden and Headmaster Cid. "Great… nobody remembered my birthday except for that blonde girl over there…" he thought with one of his popular grins spreading across his handsome face. He continued to stare at Quistis while she was seated on the lower deck of the bunk bed, leaned back against the wall and asleep. 

_When you're close to me,_

_I can feel your heartbeat;_

_I can hear you breathing in my ear._

Squall stood up from the couch and headed for the door. "I'm going to have my dinner," he told them before he got out. Zell and Selphie stopped talking and looked at Seifer. "Come to think of it… we took the evening trip to Galbadia and we're gonna arrive there tomorrow at noon since this train's really a bit slow right now because of some problem in the engine…" Zell told him.

"And your point is?" Seifer asked with a nasty look on his face.

"Selphie and I are joining Squall for dinner…wanna come with us?" Zell asked, ignoring Seifer's rudeness.

Seifer turned to Quistis and she's still asleep, so he simply told Zell, "Trepe is asleep. I'll just stay here with her. You guys go ahead," he told them. 

Zell and Selphie exchanged confused glances with each other and then eyed Seifer. Seifer frowned at them and he stood up, placing his Hyperion by the wall. "I won't hurt the sleeping beauty, okay? Now go!" he snapped angrily at them.

Selphie giggled and got Zell's hand. "Let's go and leave them," she said as she dragged him outside, leaving Seifer and Quistis inside.

When Seifer knew that the two had gone away to the snack bar of the train, he approached Quistis and got her by the shoulders. He stared at her for quite some time and when he somewhat got tired of admiring her sleeping features, he lay her on the bed properly and got the blanket, covering half of her body with it. With that, he went back to the window and looked outside.

_Wouldn't you agree?_

_Baby, you and me_

_Got a groovy kind of love._

Quistis shifted and opened her eyes, adjusting them to the bright light in the cabin. She yawned and sat up, quite confused on how she got to lie down and have a blanket covering half of her body from her tummy to her feet. She searched the room for companions, expecting to see Squall, Selphie and Zell in one corner… but she didn't.

She saw Seifer standing by the window and fiddling with the locket.

_Anytime you want to,_

_You can turn me on too;_

_Anything you want to,_

_Anytime at all..._

Seifer remembered how she pushed him against the wall and how she held his hand earlier that day. He couldn't help but smile at the memory as thoughts on how come Quistis would act that way around a former and still nasty guy like him…

And Seifer recalled that she's been good enough to be another of his best friends because they had spent too much time together talking to each other properly like two well-acquainted persons would… 

He opened the locket again and stared at his own picture there on the section to the right, then turned his gaze to the left section and there's nothing there.

He was interrupted when Quistis approached him and touched his right shoulder with her hand. "What are you doing? Where are the others?" she asked.

He closed the locket and placed it inside his pocket again. "They're outside having their dinner…" he replied.

She looked at him as he faced her. "What about you?" she asked.

"Oh… I'll just go with you…" he stammered, then smiling shyly. "Th…thanks for being here," he told her.

She eyed him curiously. "Huh?" she asked.

He sighed heavily, searching for the right words to say. "I mean… uh… well, you've been nice enough when Puberty-Boy and the others were kind of annoying… and…" he stopped when she smiled gently at him.

"Did you like my gift? Sorry if it's…it's girly… I know you don't have any intention to wear it because it's not really for boys… but I've had it ever since last year, even before you left the Garden…I've been wanting to show it to you because… because…" she trailed off.

_When I kiss your lips,_

_Ooh, I start to shiver;_

_Can't control the quivering inside…_

Seifer didn't let her finish; he held her closer and gave her a passionate kiss on the lips.

At that moment, Quistis thought that what if she wasn't the first girl that he's ever kissed? The thought made her feel jealous, but something in Seifer made her feel like she's the one and the only girl that he's ever kissed that way…

And she felt alright at last…

…at that moment, Seifer belonged to her…

…and at that moment, Quistis belonged to him…

…and he's meaning to keep her forever…

"I cannot lose you, Quisty, you're the only one I have left…" he told her gently…

_Wouldn't you agree?_

_Baby, you and me_

_Got a groovy kind of love…_

They finally arrived at Galbadia the next day and they were in their said costumes. Seifer had to wear a brown wig and remove his trench coat, replacing it with a black leather jacket. Squall wore some checkered shirt and white pants plus some glasses to make himself look dorky.

Quistis and Selphie pretended that they were sisters and so Selphie had to wear a blonde wig and they were both wearing pink apron dresses, white stockings and black maryjanes so that they'd look like sweet and timid country girls… while Zell was stuck with the Luau shirt and the loose cargo shorts. The students from Galbadia Garden eyed them curiously as they entered… and after searching for the Headmaster's Office for 2 hours, they finally made it.

After 2 hours of screening, they got accepted and used the following names: Seifer Trepe, Squall Dincht, Zell Leonheart, Selphie Almasy and Quistis Almasy.

"How come nobody wants to use my surname?!" Selphie complained as they were headed for their dorm rooms. "Oh, you wouldn't understand…" Seifer told her, meaning to say that they wouldn't wanna inherit some of Selphie's wackiness and sometimes childishness.

Before Quistis got inside her room, Seifer approached her and smiled at her. "It has a nice sound to it: Quistis Almasy." He pointed out.

She blushed slightly and smiled gently at him. "Eh… yeah… I guess so too," she replied shyly.

He winked at her and proceeded inside his own room.

_When I'm feeling blue,_

_All I have to do_

_Is take a look at you,_

Then I'm not so blue 

Quistis felt a little nervous about the mission, knowing that they could just die in any minute now if ever one Galbadian Citizen found out about their true identities.

She looked at her clock and saw that it was already 1 in the morning. Her frown deepened when she remembered that Squall and Zell were already doing secret rounds in the whole Garden. She crossed her arms restlessly as she leaned against the wall by the window in complete darkness, with only the moon serving as her light. "What kind of Garden is this… it's like an exclusive school and there's this _lights-out_ policy?! Makes me appreciate Balamb Garden more…" she thought in annoyance. She remembered the administrator telling her that each rule is strictly followed in Galbadia Garden, and if she violates any, she gets punished.

She almost jumped up in surprise when the automatic door suddenly opened and she saw a tall figure of a man entering. She studied the figure closely but the door closed. She heard his heavy footsteps as he came closer to her…until finally, she was able to recognize him. She smiled lovingly at him. "Seify," she said with a gentle tone as she welcomed him in her arms…

_When I'm in your arms,_

_Nothing seems to matter;_

_My whole world could shatter;_

_I don't care…_

Seifer embraced her tightly. "Quisty," he murmured against her ear. 

She sighed heavily against his chest. "I'm so glad you're here… I'm getting worried about the outcome of this mission," she admitted.

He smiled at what she said. "Oh… we're just the same, Quisty," he replied. She smiled as she tightened her embrace. "Oh, really? Is this really the Seifer Almasy that I knew? I thought that you're not the type of guy to get worried about missions…" she said with a teasing tone in her voice.

He shrugged and chuckled lightly. "Heheh… as long as you're here, nothing else matters…" he told her with a serious but loving tone…

And in that moment, Quistis knew that he was already somebody special to her…and she was the same to him…

_Wouldn't you agree?_

_Baby, you and me_

_Got a groovy kind of love_

_We got a groovy kind of love._

_We got a groovy kind of love…_

_Oh, whoa…_

_We got a groovy kind of love…_

_----- _

author's note::: Part VI will be coming…


	6. Part VI: R For Release

Seifer

By: General Quistis

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, yadda, yadda, yadda… but I own the story plot.

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Part VI: R For Release 

The morning sunlight in his dorm room made him a little uneasy as he got up from bed and looked outside the window… the whole Garden was floating across the ocean.

He frowned when he realized what was happening. "Shit… how can all of the plans get all screwed up?!" he thought in annoyance as he got dressed quickly and headed for Squall's room, entering without even knocking. "Hey, Puberty-boy! You're such a great leader!" he scolded.

Squall was looking outside his window when Seifer entered his room without any warning. He turned to face his former enemy. "It wasn't my fault! How was I supposed to know that this Galbadia Garden is going to fly away into nowhere?" he replied with a serious but hard tone.

Seifer laughed sarcastically. "Very funny… and have you retrieved the documents?" he asked.

"The documents are already with me but we need to get out of here real quick or they'll find out about it," Squall told him with a restless look on his face. 

"What do you want us to do? Jump out from here?" Seifer asked.

Squall looked up at Seifer's hair and his eyes grew wide in shock. "Seifer?! Where's your wig?!" he demanded.

Seifer was surprised and he clutched his hair. "Shit!" he muttered, knowing that he just put himself… and his teammates in trouble again… "Why don't you go out for a while and go to my room and get my wig?" he asked.

"You get it yourself," Squall snapped as he looked outside the window again.

"If I go out, some Galbadian Students will see me and then they'll find out that I'm Seifer Almasy and not Seifer Trepe!" he said in an annoyed tone.

Then, they were interrupted when they heard the voice of Martine from the P.A. system. "Attention everyone, the Garden has been robbed. Last night, some intruders had stolen our important documents about…"

"Oh phooey! Blah blah blah…" Seifer said, not even bothering to listen anymore.

"We're jumping out of this moving Garden." Squall told him.

"What?!" Seifer said in disbelief.

They stopped when they heard the last few words of Martine: "Faculty Members and the members of the Disciplinary Committee will be doing rounds and inspections. All rooms and things are subject for inspection, thank you."

Seifer laughed in disbelief. "Dammit, Puberty-boy! How are we going to get out of here?" he asked.

"We're jumping out." Squall said.

"What we need are parachutes." Seifer told him.

"No time to get parachutes. We have to get out of this Garden." Squall said as he got his Gunblade. "Go and alert Quistis, Selphie and Zell," he commanded.

"Why can't we just kill all of them?" Seifer asked.

"Because we won't be killing any of them, okay?" Squall asked.

Seifer was about to insult Squall and his orders, but he was interrupted when the automatic door opened. The two turned to the door and saw 3 soldiers fully armed, staring at them. "Hey, aren't you…" one soldier turned to Seifer. 

Seifer frowned. "What, you haven't seen a blonde guy before?" he demanded.

The soldiers attacked him but before they could hurt him, Seifer got his Hyperion and in one swing, he had beheaded the 3 soldiers.

Squall watched in horror when he saw the heads roll down to the ground. Seifer rushed out of the room and headed for Quistis' room. "Hahaha! See ya in a million years!" he yelled out.

Quistis jerked up in surprise when her door opened. She stood up from her desk and her eyes grew wide when she saw the bloodstains on Seifer's trench coat. She also wondered why he isn't in his costume, but she didn't have the chance to ask… he grabbed her right fist and dragged her out of the room. "SEIFER?! What's going on?" she demanded with a surprised look on her face.

"We're getting out of here!" he told her.

"But Seifer, the Garden is…" she didn't get the chance to finish her sentence because she heard several gunshots from behind them and lots of people shouting.

"What about Selphie, Zell and Squall?" she asked him as she continued to run.

To her surprise, Seifer did not answer… instead he was singing a song whose tune was so confusing that Quistis couldn't even understand what it meant…

As they were running, flashbacks of several incidents before the present began to come back to her: 

She could recall Seifer talking to himself… and his behavior when Fuujin died… he didn't throw much of a fit.

…and she would sometimes hear him saying, "My world is falling apart…", but she didn't pay much attention to it. 

She also recalled the way he acted for the past few days… so unusual for Seifer…

"Come with me, Quistis, let's get out of here… and when we get out of here, they won't bother us anymore!" Seifer told her, which made her stop those memories.

The last one she recalled was the incident when Seifer punched the bathroom mirror and ended up hurting himself…

Suddenly, she was afraid.

"Seifer, let go of me!" she commanded.

"No, Quisty… from now on, we'll be together forever!" he told her.

"What the…" she began.

"SEIFER! QUISTIS!" they heard Selphie's voice from behind them.

Selphie was the only one running after them… plus some other guards. Selphie stopped in her tracks to cast Fire and stop those guards from chasing her and her two other friends. 

"Selphie!" Quistis called out, looking back, but her view of Selphie soon disappeared when Seifer continued to drag her with him. "Seifer, we need to help her!" she told him.

"No, Quisty… we can live on our own… do you remember when we were children? We used to run by the shore near Matron's House and chase each other until Matron comes out and tells us to get inside to have dinner or something… do you remember?" he asked with a jolly-sounding voice.

Quistis bit her lower lip. "Seifer, stop running, you're hurting me!" she begged, noticing the pain in her wrist.

"That's what you've always told me every time we play tag by the shore! Do you remember that?" he asked her.

Her frown deepened when she saw a bunch of Galbadian SeeDs blocking their way. Seifer took care of those SeeDs and Quistis didn't even bother to look when he shooed them away with his Hyperion and even managed to injure several of them.

She didn't know where he was going to take her, but suddenly, it all became clear to her when she realized that they were headed for some balcony.

Seifer finally stopped running and reached for his pocket, but he withdrew his hand from his pocket and punched the air. "Where's the damn locket?" he thought.

Quistis was still trying to pull her hand away from him, but his grip tightened.

Seifer looked down from the balcony and saw the ocean and some rocks with jagged edges. He smiled calmly. "Look Quisty! It's so peaceful down there! Let's take a swim!" he said as he pulled her close to him.

Quistis' mouth dropped open. "No! Seifer, wait, I…" he didn't let her finish; he gave her a kiss and embraced her tightly, crushing her body against his.

He stopped when he saw the guards and some Galbadian SeeDs heading for them. "There they are! Don't let them escape!" 

Seifer smiled at them and gripped Quistis' wrist tightly. "NO! Seifer!" she cried. Without thinking, she reached out a hand to the Galbadian SeeDs, hoping that they could help her.

"They're gonna jump! Get them!" were the last words she heard from the commander of the guards.

With that, Seifer jumped out from the balcony… with her. "NO!" she screamed in panic, seeing the waves and the jagged-edged rocks below them.

"I love you, Quisty." Were his last words to her…

*** 

Selphie fell on her knees, wiping her tears away. She covered her face with her hands as she continued to weep. "The prisoner is already inside… shall we inform the Balamb Garden Headmaster that 4 of his SeeDs are dead and that the last one is here in prison?" she heard one of the guards tell another one.

She swallowed hard as she tried to adjust her vision. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and looked around the dimly lit room. She recalled that she slipped on something and when she fell, they were able to catch her… "I placed that object in my pocket…" she thought as she got it. It was a silver locket and she stared at it for a long time. "Squall is dead… Seifer is dead… Quistis is dead… Zell is dead… and I'm still alive here…" she realized. 

She opened the locket and she was surprised when she saw Seifer's and Quistis' pictures…

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author's note: Actually, I was a bit sleepy when I was doing this last part… sorry if it took so long… but anyway, if you found it sloppy and a little bit "insane", fine… because as I see it, it's really sloppy and really insane! ;_; oh well… gotta run…


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